CCRI Toughs one out vs. Lincoln College 87-74!

12.02.13

Elijah Okagbare

The CCRI Knights men’s basketball team hosted Region XXI Division III powerhouse Wildcats
Lincoln College of New England from Southington, CT Monday and came away with a hard
fought 87-74 victory. The win raises CCRI's record to 8-2 overall and 5-1 in Region
XXI. With the loss the Wildcats drop to 8-5.

CCRI got out to an early lead and was able to maintain it throughout the first half
but Lincoln put an 8-4 run together to end the first half to go into half time trailing
by only 10 points with the score 43-33. Both teams played well to start the second
half as the lead dropped from 10 points to one, 61-60 with 10 minutes to play. The
Knights got clutch scoring down the stretch from big man Elijah Okagbare (Atlanta,
GA) who hit for 11 of his 13 points in the second half to go with seven rebounds and
a blocked shot. The Knights also got big points from Kevin Marmolejos (Queens, NY)
who hit three big 3-pointers after Lincoln closed the gap to one point. Marmolejos
had 17 total points, including five 3-pointers on 5-10 shooting from long range with
six rebounds and three assists.

After the game Head Coach Rick Harris commented:" This was our best defensive effort
of the year against a very strong opponent. We've been emphasizing defense to create
offensive opportunities and we were able to do that tonight. We have two days of practice
to prepare for another important game, a league contest against a very strong Dean
College team Thursday night here at home."

The Knights now gear-up for their toughest game of the year to date. The Knights will
host the undefeated (10-0) Bulldogs of Dean College for an important Region XXI league
game on Thursday at 8:00pm at the Cullen Fieldhouse in Warwick.

The Community College of Rhode Island, New England’s largest comprehensive community
college, enrolls nearly 18,000 students in credit courses and thousands more in non-credit
and job training classes. Its athletic program boasts 12 varsity programs and an academic
support program for all student-athletes.